


Last Drink

by Vietta



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Death Wish, Gen, Meteorfall
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-09
Updated: 2016-09-09
Packaged: 2018-08-13 23:44:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7990660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vietta/pseuds/Vietta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They’re sitting in chairs dragged up from an abandoned apartment; the chairs are a little worse for wear after being carted up by two inebriated men, but still comfortable. Rude’s sunglasses are perched on his forehead, his eyes focused on the bright purple haze that is Meteor coming to punish them all for sins commited and yet unthought of. He’s got a glass of something green in his hand, sugar around the rim, but he’s not touched it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Last Drink

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rude-at-your-service](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=rude-at-your-service).



> This was written nearly a year ago for rude-at-your-service on tumblr. I remembered it today and decided to make it an official fanfic

They’re sitting in chairs dragged up from an abandoned apartment; the chairs are a little worse for wear after being carted up by two inebriated men, but still comfortable. Rude’s sunglasses are perched on his forehead, his eyes focused on the bright purple haze that is Meteor coming to punish them all for sins commited and yet unthought of. He’s got a glass of something green in his hand, sugar around the rim, but he’s not touched it.

Reno has the same drink and he’s swirling it, staring at it’s green depths and chewing his lip. “What’s it taste like?”

“Keegan said it was like apples.” Rude doesn’t take his eyes off the sky and leans back in his chair, legs crossed. “Smells like almonds and tastes like apples.”

“Could be worse.” Reno shrugs, but Rude doesn’t see. His eyes are fixed on the sky. “I didn’t know you fixed it for Katana…Think we should have fixed Lena a glass too?”

Brown eyes are narrowed when they snap to Reno, his expression saying everything his mouth won’t, like always.

Reno gets the hint and holds up a placating hand. “You’re right, you’re right, it’s better we let her sleep through this. We can explain it all tomorrow.” Elena is passed out on a bed in the apartment they’d commandeered for the night; safe, sound, and hopefully intoxicated enough to sleep through the horror going on around them.

"Tomorrow…Right.” Rude looks back at the sky burning purple and slowly turning red as Metoer’s wrath becomes more distinct. There won’t be a tomorrow, but he let’s Reno pretend. It’s comforting, in a way, to sit and pretend they’re just drinking beer on the roof, like they used to do when Junon was a hot blister beside the ocean that smelled of salt water and mako. Now it’s mid-winter and all Rude can smell is ozone and ash; in their panick the people of Junon have started a few fires, looted a few businesses, let chaos reign as death stares them all in the face.

“Think Tseng will be mad?” Reno keeps swirling, knocking sugar from the rim of his glass and into the alcohol.

Rude winces, hearing Reno’s voice catch a bit. If he’s pretending everything is gonna be back to normal in the morning, then Rude can play along. “Isn’t he always mad at you?”

There’s a laugh at that, a small snort at first, but it devolves into a throaty cackle that sounds rather unhinged. Rude laughs too, but doesn’t feel the mania that Reno’s fighting to control.

“You got a point, partner. Rufus is gonna be mad too. I’ll just tell him where to stuff it.” They had deserted, last minute, at Reno’s urging. If Rufus was determined to sacrifice himself, then Reno was going to let him play the fool. He wouldn’t let Rude and Elena do the same. Sure, it didn’t amount to much, they were just going to die with everyone else instead of with Rufus, but Rude appreciated the opportunity to chose.

“Really, Reno? You must have a deathwish.” Rude chuckles, shaking his head, wishing they could stretch these rather serene moments of pretending into eternity. He wouldn’t mind staying on this rooftop forever, watching the sky burn in colors he’s never seen before, the scent of ozone burning his nose and the sun setting at his elbow. It was peaceful, in its own way. A calm before the storm that would wipe them all off the face of the planet like so much trash.

“I’m drinkin’ one, aren’t I?” Reno brings the glass to his lips with a small laugh, sets it back down without taking so much as a taste. He’s stuck in contemplation and Rude lets the silence stretch.”How long does it take?”

“Three minutes. You’ll turn pink, have a seizure, fall into a coma, and then it’s done.” The words are thick on his tongue, but he forces them out. He wishes Reno hadn’t asked him to make this, the last cocktail they’d share, but it’s part of Turk tradition, in a way. A final drink of cyanide and liquor, something sweet to send you under when you’ve got the choice and the time. Rude feels its a bit of a cheap way to go, especially when the rest of the world seems fated to burn. He hasn’t poisoned his own drink, but he doesn’t tell Reno that; so far as the redhead is concerned they’re in this together. Rude wants to go with the rest of the world in a blaze of glory. Let Elena sleep, let Rufus sacrifice himself, let Tseng rest in his too early grave, let Reno drink sugar and cyanide, Rude wants to see the last firework show the planet has to offer.

His partner stands, holding his glass aloft as the sky catches fire, making Reno blend into the hazy sky around them. Rude joins him and they touch glasses, a final toast to a life arguably well lived, with their eyes fixed on the sky. Reno has the glass raised to his lips, prepared to down it like bitter medicine. Rude clenches his glass tighter, bracing himself for what’s going to come. They are both shocked when green shoots from the sky behind them, the screeching of the planet’s anger asailing their ears as the force of the planet’s final blow rocks the building beneath their feet. Rude tackles Reno flat against the rooftop in reflex, grit scraping exposed skin raw. Rude’s eyes are open, his sunglasses pulled down to protect him from the light of the Lifestream that seems close enough to touch. They stare in awe, watching the sky go brilliant with green and red, the raging heat nearly baking them as they lay on the hard roof.

When it’s over, Rude stands first and helps Reno to his feet. “You alright?” 

Reno’s shaky on his legs, digs a scraped up finger into his ear as if to dislodge something. "Y-yeah..you?”

“Yeah.” Rude pulls his sunglasses off, knowing that the scene they just witnessed will be burned into his mind forever. Part of him wants to scream; the weight of knowledge that the damn apocalypse just happened and they lived through it is overwhelming. 

Reno claps him on the shoulder, grinning with a bit of that mania he’d shown earlier. “I’m gonna scream. Wanna scream?”

“Seems appropriate.” Rude gives a shaky smile and they brace themselves at the edge of the rooftop, bellowing their residual terror and strange euphoria into the panicked streets below as bits of the Lifestream float down like dust and seep back into the Planet beneath them. They break down into laughter, falling against each other and sinking down to the dirty cement, working their mixed emotions out without words. It’s the most alive they’ve felt in ages, huddled up on a rooftop celebrating their survival.

Later, once they’ve calmed down, they go to collect Elena, to gather her up in their arms in turns and share the joyous news that they aren’t all dead. They’ll get a phone call from Rufus mid-celebration, to their shock and horror, and they’ll answer his summons. Rude drives, they aren’t sure if flying is wise, and they make their way to Healin as instructed, where Tseng and Rufus are somehow alive and real, to re-create a home for themselves amongst the wrecked remains of an unforgiving Planet.


End file.
